AUSTRALIAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS CONFERENCE Bishops Commission for Family, Youth and Life Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP (Chairman) Bishop Peter Comensoli Bishop Mark Edwards OMI Bishop Michael Kennedy 4 September 2015 Committee Secretary Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee PO Box 6100 Parliament House Canberra ACT 2600
[email protected] Dear Sir/Madam Re: A popular vote, in the form of a plebiscite or referendum, on the matter of marriage in Australia This submission from the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (ACBC) has been prepared by the Bishops Commission for Family, Youth and Life (BCFYL). The ACBC is the assembly of Catholic Bishops of this country and the means by which the bishops act nationally and address issues of national significance. The BCFYL is one of the commissions established by the ACBC with responsibility for a range of issues including marriage. The ACBC appreciates the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee’s invitation to make a submission. Summary Marriage is a fundamental institution for all societies because of its importance in uniting spouses as potential parents and in providing for the upbringing of their children. It has therefore been understood as the union of a man and a woman in all cultures, religions and legal systems until very recent times and is still so defined in the law of most nations (including Australia), in international law and in most religious and secular traditions. The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference acknowledges that there are now diverse views about this matter and that several bills are presently before the Commonwealth Parliament that would redefine marriage in Australian law so as to allow ‘same-sex marriage’.